I shrugged and Mercer kept talking.“We can meet you there in three days.”
“Three days?”I asked incredulously.We were maybe that distance from Kottke, but Mercer and Orion were much farther out.“How do you plan to get there that quickly?”
“You let me worry about that, Dax.We need supplies?”
I thought for a moment.“We’re good on food and the like, but the armory is empty.”
“Orion and I will take care of that too.”
Burn pumped her fist in the air.
“Make it three and a half days,” Mercer said.“See you soon,” he added and dropped off the call.
I reached over to close the channel.
“See, Sarge, told you it would all work out.”
“You were right.”If it all really worked out, then this was the beginning of the end of Lacy’s time on the ship.The thought tied my stomach up in knots.
39
Lacy
After spending mostof the afternoon in the engine room making sure Finn hadn’t broken anything—he hadn’t, which left me with nothing to do—I slipped down the hall and into my room.Setting my tool bag on the desk, I stared at the bare walls of my temporary quarters.If I were staying, I’d do some decorating, make it my own.But this wouldn’t be my place for long.In the not-too-distant future, this room would be filled with someone else’s stuff.
I walled off the rush of emotions tangled up with that thought.Yesterday had been a lot and my feelings were all over the place.I’d gone from persona non grata onFortunato...what?Persona grata?
I laughed softly.I was hardly a welcome guest.And with nothing to do in the engine room, I felt useless on top of everything else.
The only silver lining in the whole damn situation was that Dax and his crew were going to help me get my sister back.
My hands flexed.I needed something to do.Anything to get out of my head.Since tinkering in the engine room wasn’t happening, I was left with one option.
Dammit!I hated working out.
My duffle lay in the corner, where I’d tossed it after coming back on board yesterday.There was no point in unpacking since I wouldn’t be here that long.I dropped to my knees and rifled through its contents.I dug through my clothes until I found the sweats and T-shirt that Dax had lent me.They were the closest thing to any type of workout gear I owned.Stripping down to my underwear, I struggled into a sports bra and then donned my borrowed clothes.I’d planned to take them with me, a souvenir of my time onboard this ship.My time with Dax.
I swirled my hair up into a bun and grabbed the sneakers I’d purchased on Rigel Naught.
Fortuna’sgym was tucked into the belly of the ship, between the cargo hold and the currently empty armory.Mako’sgym had never been an actual gym.I’d used it for storage.Sure, weightlifting and cardio were a part of life in space, necessary to counter the effects of different gravities and maintaining the muscle needed for most jobs, but I’d never enjoyed them.
I stood in the doorway of the small gym, staring unhappily at the limited options.A small collection of adjustable weights and a treadmill.A big multipurpose mat covered the rest of the floor.
Ugh.
Nothing appealed to me.Working outneverappealed to me.On Elegium Station, my daily walk back and forth to work and the constant repairs provided all the exercise I needed.But onboardFortuna?I hadn’t done anything.
Deciding the treadmill would be closest to what I was used to, I stepped onto the track with caution.The screen blinked to life and I studied it carefully, choosing a moderate level.
The tread moved and I concentrated on keeping pace.I tried to clear everything else—all the anger, all the fear, and especially all the stress—from my mind.
Easier said than done.
My sister.Dax.Engineering.Finn.My dad.From the moment Bob had handed me that data chip, my life had gotten socomplicated.So tangled and confusing.
As the workout picked up, it became easier to clear my head, until finally, I slipped into that elusive headspace where I didn’t think past my next step, past the next hit of adrenaline.
40
